Admitted thief gets rider

WALLACE — Wednesday was Law Day in Shoshone County and Judge Scott Wayman heard numerous cases throughout the day, including the sentencing of Quentin Mendy.

Mendy, 19 at the time of his arrest, was apprehended June 2 and charged with grand theft of firearms, rifles or shotguns, two counts of burglary, aiding in a misdemeanor, and then later for revocation of bail — violating the conditions of his release.

The initial arrest was made following a complaint that a group of youths were smoking behind the Pinehurst library.

Pinehurst Police Department officer Jeff Demery followed up on the report and made contact with the group, which eventually spiraled into an investigation linking Mendy to a slew of burglaries throughout Pinehurst.

According to police, Mendy and a group of five juveniles broke into a series of homes and vehicles, stealing thousands of dollars of miscellaneous property.

Later that month, Mendy entered a guilty plea to two felony charges, including grand theft of firearms, rifles or shotguns, and burglary and also a misdemeanor charge of aiding in a misdemeanor.

Following his second arrest on Sept. 21, Mendy was not granted a bond amount due to his refusal to comply with the conditions of his release, as well as noncompliance with the presentence investigation process, which was ordered on June 30.

Shoshone County Deputy Prosecutor Ben Allen, representing the state, outlined Mendy’s extensive juvenile record and that he has seemingly resisted repeated attempts to help himself curb his criminal behavior.

The state asked that Wayman sentence Mendy to 10 years and in their argument to back up such a lengthy request, Allen pointed out several factors and indicators that Mendy poses a substantial risk to society if he is given a lenient sentence.

“Upon his release, he quickly began failing UA’s (urinalysis), tampered with his GPS tracking bracelet, showed up in investigative reports for new burglaries, and ultimately cut off his GPS monitor in a last ditch effort to evade supervision,” Allen said. “As such, he continues to present a grave danger to the community and despite his age, has an LSI score that is already well into the high risk category to reoffend. At this point, I think the only appropriate sentence for Mr. Mendy is an imposed sentence wherein the protection of society can be safeguarded.”

Mendy’s public defender didn’t argue that a sentence in this case was necessary, but instead argued that the court should retain jurisdiction in whatever sentence they hand down.

Wayman, citing Mendy’s young age, ultimately handed down a five-year sentence, but with the court retaining jurisdiction.

Retained jurisdiction or "riders" are individuals whom the court has retained jurisdiction over sentenced to a period of incarceration in an Idaho Department of Corrections facility.

The IDOC assesses riders to determine their needs and places them in the appropriate facilities to receive intensive programming and education. Upon completion of a rider, the court determines whether to place the resident on probation or sentence them to term.